The year is ending, and the time has come for that traditional post reviewing the year and wishing well for the one ahead. I am quite sure that most people will not have the best things to say about 2020. The Corona crisis had us too much under control. Lockdowns accompanied by uncertainties or fear. Tight restrictions with no leisure or fun due to closed restaurants, gyms and cinemas. Football only on TV, no concerts or parties. As if all that wasn’t enough, we also became accustomed to ”social distancing”, which was probably the hardest for all of us. We all miss meeting our friends and the people we love, exchanging ideas over a cup of coffee with a heart-felt hug.
For me, 2020 is the year of the little heroes and not that of the successful ones!
Still, there are also positive things to report. Some companies brought new ideas and innovations to life and seem to have a promising future. We saw breakthroughs in research that can make our lives better and there were even the companies that their hard work was rewarded with a successful IPO.
For me personally, 2020 was a special year in which I learned a lot. It taught me not only what I am made of, but what we can all achieve together if we only set our minds to it. 2020 showed me that boundaries and restrictions take place much more in our heads than by regulations and imposed requirements. Sales cycles of a year or more could suddenly be shortened to a few weeks. Implementations and project realizations were carried out at a fascinating speed, although regulations and safety standards have not changed. I genuinely hope that we keep this thought in mind for 2021 and do not fall back into the previous behavior of excuses and excuses when it comes to change and innovation.
Furthermore, 2020 showed me how grateful we should be to our "little" everyday heroes. People who, in my opinion, are more important than all the innovative and clever minds whose inventions and developments enrich our lives. Sure, I really like people who know how to wear big shoes, people who run companies and are successful. However, it is the little heroes who inspire me. They show me what is really important in life.
Ali Express and Amazon make us happy, but what would these companies be without the people who do everything to get our deliveries to us on time? The warehouse workers, vendors and postmen. They work around the clock, poorly paid and under constant stress, while we complain if the delivery does not arrive at the expected time.
What would we be without our caregivers, nurses and rescue teams, who sacrifice themselves every day and are constantly exposed to possible infection?We all see that the old and sick suffer but how many of us actually do something about it?
Where would we be without the employees in drugstores, pharmacies and supermarkets, who fill the shelves for us all day long, so that we can start the next few weeks carefree with enough toilet paper and pasta in the closet? They work 8 to 10 hours a day “under a mask” and we always complain when we should wear the mouth and nose protection for 30 minutes.
Don’t forget that it could be that right next to you is one of the little heroes who makes your life as comfortable as it is now.
Where would we be without the train staff and the bus drivers, who take us from place to place and react in a friendly way when people complain about wearing a mask? Or the garbage collectors who dispose of our trash so that we can live in a clean environment but we always complain that they should do the work at another time.
There are so many other people that I have not mentioned here who make our life better and we take their work for granted. We do not recognize them, don’t know their names. On the other hand, we do know every gossip about class Z celebrities or follow influencers who want to sell us expensive products we don’t need.
For me, 2020 is the year of the little heroes and not the “big” and successful. The year of the people who help us make our way through one of the greatest crises of the century. Thanks to them we can look more happily into our future. I think we should think about giving something back to exactly these people, as a thank you for being here for us around the clock. How about thanking the postman for delivering your package, even if it was 2 days later than planned instead of complaining? How about thanking the supermarket employees for their work? How about not honking your horn when a garbage truck is blocking the road but waiting patiently until they finish or even giving them a " thumbs up" when you pass by? How about respecting others, putting on the mask, keeping distance and waiting patiently in line until your turn arrives? This is how you protect yourself, but also those around you. Don’t forget that right next to you, could be one of those little heroes that make your life just a little bit better. What would we do without them?